Carlos Vela of Los Angeles FC dribbles past Brad Smith #11 of Seattle Sounders during the second half of a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Steven Beitashour #3 of Los Angeles FC and Jordan Morris #13 of Seattle Sounders fight for control of the ball during the first half of a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Diego Rossi #9 of Los Angeles FC and Cristian Roldan #7 of Seattle Sounders fight for control of the ball during the second half of a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Sound

The gallery will resume inseconds

Steven Beitashour #3 and Mark-Anthony Kaye #14 of Los Angeles FC celebrate a goal as Gustav Svensson #4 of Seattle Sounders looks on during the second half of a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Diego Rossi #9 of Los Angeles FC and Cristian Roldan #7 of Seattle Sounders fight for control of the ball during the second half of a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Cristian Roldan #7 of Seattle Sounders prepares to kick the ball away while Eduard Atuesta #20 of Los Angeles FC moves in during a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Jordan Morris #13 of Seattle Sounders slides over Tyler Miller #1 of Los Angeles FC after Morris’ shot on goal during a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Fans of the Los Angeles FC hold up their scarves ahead of a game against the Seattle Sounders at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Pablo Sisniega #23 of Los Angeles FC makes a save during a warm up exercise ahead of a game against the Seattle Sounders at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Carlos Vela of Los Angeles FC dribbles past Brad Smith #11 of Seattle Sounders during the second half of a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 21: Carlos Vela #10 of Los Angeles FC dribbles past Brad Smith #11 of Seattle Sounders during the second half of a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Carlos Vela #10 of Los Angeles FC dribbles the ball during the second half of a game against the Seattle Sounders at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Fans of Los Angeles FC cheer during the first half of a game between the Seattle Sounders and the Los Angeles FC at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Victor Rodriguez #8 of Seattle Sounders steals the ball from Diego Rossi #9 of Los Angeles FC during the first half of a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Kelvin Leerdam #18 of Seattle Sounders battles Latif Blessing #7 of Los Angeles FC for a loose ball during the first half of a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Harrison Shipp #19 of Seattle Sounders and Lee Nguyen #24 of Los Angeles FC shake hands after a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles FC defeated the Seattle Sounders 4-1.

Cristian Roldan #7 of Seattle Sounders and Victor Rodriguez #8 of Seattle Sounders defend against Latif Blessing #7 of Los Angeles FC during the first half of a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 21: Harrison Shipp #19 of Seattle Sounders tackles Mark-Anthony Kaye #14 of Los Angeles FC during the first half of a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 21: Steven Beitashour #3 of Los Angeles FC defends against the dribble of Brad Smith #11 of Seattle Sounders during the second half of a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Carlos Vela #10 of Los Angeles FC dribbles past Brad Smith #11 of Seattle Sounders during the second half of a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

Brad Smith #11 of Seattle Sounders battles Diego Rossi #9 of Los Angeles FC for a loose ball during the second half of a game at Banc of California Stadium on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Football Club made yet another strong statement to clubs throughout Major League Soccer on Sunday.

Eight weeks into the season, following a 4-1 win over the Seattle Sounders FC, it is clear that LAFC (7-1-1, 22 points) are the class of the league.

A pair of goals from LAFC captain Carlos Vela, the club’s first and third of the match, gave the 30-year-old Mexican star a league leading 10 goals after nine matches.

“The team is working really well this season,” Vela said. “We are believing in our level. We can beat any team in this league. Our goal is to win a championship. To do that we have to have a lot of games like today.”

Working through the middle against an opponent that likes to attack from the wings, Bradley’s starting XI dominated by repossessing the ball and creating chances.

“The group today, yeah, that’s the group that’s furthest along in terms of the collective idea of what it can be like and feel like,” Bradley said after rotating several players in its last match on Wednesday. “There’s no doubt about that.”

Scoring opened in the 12th minute when from the center of the pitch Mark-Anthony Kaye picked out Vela, who had split a pair of Seattle defenders, for the first of three assists on the day.

The Canadian put the top offensive weapon in MLS in on Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei, and Vela buried it with the outside of his left foot.

“I love to have Mark at my back because he does everything,” Vela said. “It’s not about the passes. It’s about helping the attacking three. He’s always in a good flow to help in any part of the field.”

Midfielder Eduard Atuesta then scored for the first time this year, giving LAFC a 2-0 advantage by the 39th minute. Vela scored again in the 55th minute.

And just after the hour mark center forward Christian Ramirez netted his first goal since the second week of the season off a beautiful give-and-go with Kaye.

“Mark’s work is something that goes unnoticed at times,” said Ramirez, whose combination with Kaye seemed to come off the practice pitch. “He covers so much ground and wins so many balls. He’s like our anchor in there. He’s got that bite to him. It’s something special to have and we missed that last year.”

The visitor’s goal by Harry Shipp, who made his first start of the year for injured Seattle center forwards Will Bruin and Raul Ruidiaz, was the Sounders’ first against LAFC, a streak that lasted five halves and includes a pair of famous 1-0 nail biters.

Their third encounter offered minimal drama.

Seattle (5-1-1, 16 points) stepped onto the pitch with an MLS best 20-2-3 record in its past 25 matches, including six unbeaten to start to this season, but against the current Western Conference leaders they appear less than dangerous.

Unlike the Vancouver Whitecaps, which induced the first defeat of the season for Bradley’s team on Wednesday by bottling up the LAFC attack, Seattle sought to play with their hosts but were repeatedly thwarted against a team that is now 5-0 at home while outscoring the opposition 14-4.

“LAFC played very well,” said Seattle head coach Brian Schmetzer. “I don’t think we played up to our normal standard. So you concede four goals. The first one you have to give Vela credit, but I thought we could have done better on the other three. You can’t give that team easy goals. You’re in for a long afternoon.”

The Black & Gold’s rout of the lone unbeaten club in MLS took place on the pristine Banc of California Stadium pitch of in front of an announced crowd of 22,221.

Seattle will attempt to earn its first points against LAFC next Sunday at CenturyLink Field, which features an artificial turf field that Bradley says belies what his team tries to do each time it plays.

“Next week is going to be a different game in part because, guess what, it’s going to be on turf,” Bradley said. “They’ll all be (mad) at me for saying it, but it’s just a fact.”